Turkish president Erdogan visits Angola, Nigeria, Togo

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday starts a four-day visit to Angola, Nigeria and Togo.

“He will arrive Angola on Sunday for a 24-hour visit with economic and diplomatic points on the agenda, and then move to Nigeria and Togo,” Angolan foreign affairs ministry said in a statement.

Istanbul will host the third Turkey-Africa Economic and Business Forum between October 21-23 and the third Turkey-Africa Partnership Summit on December 18.

The agenda of the talks with the Turkish President also includes a discussion on combating the Fetullah Gulen terrorist organisation.

According to official data, Turkey has now 43 diplomatic representations in Africa, up from 12 in 2002. In 2020, trade between the two destinations reached $3 billion, despite the Covid-19 pandemic, against $5.4 billion in 2003.

In July, Angolan President João Lourenço visited Turkey and 10 bilateral cooperation agreements were signed.

This was the first visit of its kind between the two countries at the presidential level.

Turkish businessmen visit

Following the visit, a group of Turkish businessmen visited Angola in August and to assessed business opportunities, potential sectors for investment and ways of establishing local partnerships.

On Wednesday, Turkish Airlines started air connections with Angola, with two weekly flights connecting Luanda and Istanbul.

According to the airline, this follows an agreement signed in July during President Lourenço’s visit to Turkey and aims at facilitating an increase in exchanges, business and tourism between the two countries.

Meanwhile, the Angolan president said on Wednesday that there is space for investors in the country, mainly in free areas and in new oil exploration zones.

President Lourenço, who addressed by videoconference the plenary session of the fourth International Forum “Russian Energy Week” which is taking place in Moscow, said that Angola has restructured its oil sector as it eyes more production.